There are many ordinary activities which require the use of a scrubbing action. Scrubbing is used not only to clean and polish, but also to remove rust and to sand. Consequently, many scrubbing devices have been created to assist in this commonplace activity.
Most mechanically-assisted scrubbing devices generally apply rotational motion to a brush or attachment about its central axis to achieve the desired scrubbing action. The rotational motion may be applied directly, by connecting the brush to the shaft of a motor, or indirectly, by interposing gears between the brush and motor. In either case, however, the brush or attachment which does the scrubbing fully rotates about its central axis.
Rotation of the scrubbing brush causes several problems. Firstly, for use in wet areas, a seal is required where the drive shaft exits the housing of the scrubber. Such a seal is usually complicated and is prone to failure after extended use. In addition, the rotation of the scrubbing brush at high speed tends to splash the cleaning fluid used in the scrubbing operation. Furthermore, rotation of the brush requires a strong motor to prevent stalling when the brush is pushed down hard against the cleaning surface. The employment of a strong motor with the brush results in the imposition of added requirements for dispersing the additional heat generated by the strong motor. A larger power supply may also be required.
Devices using reciprocating motion are also possible as well. However, many of the problems mentioned above are also present for such devices, including the problem of splashing the cleaning fluid. Consequently, a need exists for a motorized cleaning brush which avoids the splashing, high power requirements, and sealing difficulties present in prior-art rotating or reciprocating motorized brushes.